Whether you are travelling from one place to another by car, train, plane or ship or taking a journey for business or pleasure Women Talking has it covered. We try to give first-hand experiences of our trips to share with our readers.

Richmond Furniture Scheme

I am not one to generally share my shopping secrets, however, I felt compelled to make an exception in this case, as one of my favourite local haunts actively works to give back to the community and benefits from the exposure.

The personal inspiration behind my Richmond Furniture Scheme visits are not only to turn around some great household furniture buys for my own home (bagging myself a bargain but recycling and hoping to prevent unnecessary wastage is foremost behind my motivation) but also knowing that I have helped support this worthy charity.

I first came across the scheme thanks to a friend of mine and I was really surprised to discover that one of Twickenham’s best-kept secrets has been running for over 30 years!

The furniture scheme is a not-for-profit organization that recycles and up cycles furniture and as a registered charity, it has been supported by Richmond Council as well as other local organizations.

Their main focus is to help people in need who have no furniture in their homes and to recycle unwanted furniture in the community. This prevents wastage and reusable items going to landfill. However, they also need to raise funds to keep the scheme going. Therefore, they encourage anyone to come along to their warehouse to browse and buy furniture and bric-a-brac.

With daily collections in the local area, the volunteer team at the furniture scheme collect a mixed selection of contemporary, antique, vintage and modern furniture to suit most household requirements.

Their services include:

Furniture collection – house clearance, unwanted furniture, business closure, business refurbishment. (Golly! So many opportunities for good quality excess furniture and bric-a-brac to be taken off your hands-free of charge – now there is an opportunity not to be missed)

Furniture delivery– Furniture will usually only be delivered to accommodation located in or near the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. They charge £15 per delivery in the Borough and £20 or more outside the Borough.

Up cycling– If a piece of furniture is not the colour you desire or requires some alterations, there is a team at hand who can help you with your specifications.

Furniture repair– Volunteers are able to assist with repairs to transform damaged furniture to its former glory, to then be sold through the scheme.

Visit our wood store – There is a large quantity of set aside timber that has been salvaged from bed frames etc. If you are embarking on a project at home why not visit them for any wood rather than a timber yard? They have lots of long lengths suitable for shelves and decking etc. Just sign in and enquire in the main office.

Donations – Don’t discard unwanted furniture when it can have a new lease of life in another home.

Volunteers– If you have time on your hands – anything to a few hours a week to a few weeks a year – volunteering can be fun. It’s also doubly rewarding because you also know whatever you help to sell goes to charity. Finally, you have the chance to meet new, friendly, like-minded people and gain experience within this worthy charity organisation.

At present the scheme has around 20 volunteers, 2 carpenters, an up-cycling team, and the warehouse administrators, however, there are so many interesting areas of the charity that there is always an opportunity for many more local people to get involved. Gardening skills, painting, organisation, general communication, helping at car boot events, community events, website design, and management skills – all your help goes a long way in the grand scheme of the big picture.

Not only is this a great place to grab yourself a bargain, set yourself up for an up-cycling project of your own at home, but for those of you on benefits, retired or a full-time student you are eligible for an additional 15% discount on these already affordable prices.

Poppy Watt is a journalist who has over 15 years experience behind her as a freelance writer. During that time she has covered a variety of issues, with her specialities being travel, music and fashion. She considers herself a “people person” and has a personal interest in feng shui and alternative medicines. She is also Women Talking's Health and Beauty expert.